Short trip to Southern PA - ideas??

[Roger Myers]

Flying out tomorrow eve to Baltimore and driving up to York PA tomorrow night. Weds will be all business at one of our plants in York, but my flight on Thursday isn't till 4:30 or so, giving me some time on Thursday morning if things go well on Weds....
So, I'm thinking of a possible visit to Hearne in Oxford PA, and/or a visit to the Chester County Historical Society in West Chester (to see some of their spice boxes)...
Any other good ideas from you folks in the area??
Fact I'm flying will probably help keep the budget in control as 20" wide cherry doesn't qualify as carry on luggage :)
Thanks,
Roger

[Steve Schoene]

You are headed for wood Mecca. At the southern end, Good Hope Hardwoods often has spectacular walnut. If you go there call ahead, and also ask about a house tour. The owner has restored an old stone house with furniture grade millwork throughout, furnished with gallery quality pieces. (Example: the master bedroom has frame and panel walls where the panels are all matching crotchwood.)

Then you have Hearn Hardwoods, Groff & Groff and Sandy Pond, all with the kind of lumber you can only dream about almost anywhere else.

Last time I was there I had 100+ bd. feet of flitch cut walnut--14 to 18" heartwood shipped home by truck. It cost suprisingly little. So spring for the 20" cherry--the board with the curl.

[Roger Myers]

Thanks for the leads Steve....I knew of some of them, but not all...
now, buy and have it shipped you say.....hmmmmmm:):):)

[Wes Bischel]

Roger,

Groff and Groff and Sandy Pond are just down the road from each other in southern Lancaster County - kinda on the way to Hearne. If you are in southern York County, it may be easier to go across the Holtwood Dam (372)bridge to get to Groffs and Sandy Pond. Then continue east on 372 over to 896 south to Hearne. Lots of country roads, but a fairly direct route. Both Groff and Hearne ship all the time - sometimes by the semi-load.

Also, if interested, Wilke Machinery is off RT83 just north of the RT30 intersection.

I need to get down to Groffs soon as well.

Are you flying out of Philly or Harrisburg?

Wes

[John Renzetti]

Hi Roger, Plan on spending some time at Hearne's. The place is huge. They are really friendly and maybe the huge sawmill they have will be in operation. Hearne's will ship to you so you can choose all the wide boards you want. They ship all over the country.
Not sure of your schedule but you might want to swing down into Delaware on your way to West Chester. On rte 52 is Winterthur. Fantastic collection of furniture.
take care,
John

[Hank Knight]

Roger, I took the "in depth" furniture tour at Winterthur this summer. It was an amazing experience. Winterthur has the largest collection of early American furniture and decorative arts anywhere. My wife and I were the only ones on the tour so we got lots of personal attention. The docent was very knowledgeable and she allowed me to get up close and personal with many of the pieces, even though Winterthur has a strict "don't touch" rule. If you're at all interested in 18th Century American furniture, I highly recommend the tour. You have to arrange in advance and it cost $50 IIRC. Winterthur is outside Wilmington DE, but close to where you'll be.

[Wes Bischel]

Oh my goodness - how could I forget Winterthur!? (my wife used to work there in their lab!) It is another great suggestion. About an hour away from Hearne across US 1 (a real highway) then down RT52 (Kennett Pike) toward Wilmington DE. Winterthur is on 52. From there, hop onto 95 - north to philly airport (30 - 45 minutes) OR south to BWI (around 2 hours with traffic)

That would make for a very busy day - but very fulfilling!

Wes

[Gary McKown]

All above are great suggestions, but you would need at least another day to do most of that. Some other non-WW ideas; taking the Wood Mecca Route toward Oxford puts you 5 miles from the Herr's Potato Chip (actually all kinds of snacks) factory in Nottingham, on your way back to Baltimore. Fascinating tour. Think 40,000 lbs. of potatoes per day, virtually everything recycled or used (including helping to feed a 600-head Angus herd), IR detection and air-jet removal of brown and green chips, etc.

Up U.S. 1 just north of Rt. 52 is the Chadd's Ford Winery, not the best (IMO) but one of the largest SE PA wineries. Also the Brandywine Battlefield museums are nearby.

[Wes Bischel]

Roger,

How did you make out? Did you even have time to get away? Just curious.

Wes

[Roger Myers]

Wes,
I did manage to sneak a trip over to Hearne hardwoods... I know I posted something about that trip, but maybe in another thread. Had a great visit and met with Chris and took a tour and spent some money (had things shipped) and then I met Rick Hearne who took me on an even more complete tour. Had a great time, met great people, saw some fabulous wood...some logs even too big for their bandsaw (and that is saying something!!)...
Wood arrived in great shape and is sitting in the workshop waiting for the holidays to be over so I can spend some time working in the shop.
Roger

[Wes Bischel]

Roger,
Glad to hear you got away for a bit - and scored a load of wood! More often than not, when I was traveling for work "something" would come up and I would have to scrap plans.

Thanks for the update - sorry I missed your other post.

Wes